


A Shovel Talk

by boredom



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 13:54:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15414390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boredom/pseuds/boredom
Summary: Keith takes it upon himself to fulfill his brotherly duties, much to Adam's amusement and Shiro's frustration.





	A Shovel Talk

**Author's Note:**

> I have boarded the Shadam train. I haven't even seen the dude yet but I already want him and Shiro to live happily ever after and have a wonderful wedding. #GiveShiroAHappyEnding

It was late Saturday night. Shiro had invited Adam over to watch a movie (after bribing Keith with contraband sweets to get him out of Shiro’s apartment and stay in his own dorm) and the two were cuddling together, still somewhat paying attention to the movie but using the time to exchange kisses. Shiro was happy that things were going so well with Adam. He really liked him, like really, really liked him. What’s more, Keith seemed to get along with him as well. Who knows, maybe Shiro’s string of failed relationships would finally end here and he’d get his happily ever after, if not a bit of a strange one, given the circumstances.

The movie came to a close, the music swelled as the final scene faded into the credits. Honestly, Shiro couldn’t remember what exactly the movie was about. It was some action, spy, romance thing that he had found on Netflix and quickly put on, not wanting to be the guy that spent three hours trying to decide on what to watch, but it was nice and Adam seemed to like it. 

“Hey, Shiro?” Adam seemed cautious with his words, causing Shiro to panic slightly. Did his breath stink? Did he stink? Was the movie awful and now his potential boyfriend was going to break up with him because he thought he was a loser based on his movie choices? 

Patience yields focus. Patience yields focus. “Yeah?” He flipped on a switch and sat up so they could talk properly.

Adam chewed on his lip. He didn’t seem upset, more perplexed than anything, which perplexed Shiro in turn. 

Finally, he broke the silence. “Does Keith know what the shovel talk is?” 

“What?”

“The shovel talk. The talk that people use to threaten--”

“I know, what the shovel talk is.” Shiro waved his hand at him. “Why are you asking? Did Keith give you the shovel talk?” God, if that kid had pulled out his knife...well, Shiro wasn’t going to kill him but they were going to have words. 

Adam was silent. He didn’t seem upset or scared, in fact he was tapping his chin thoughtfully, as if trying to find the best words to describe the situation. “He gave me a shovel talk.” 

Shiro buried his face in his hands. “Oh God.” He didn’t want to know how that particular talk had gone. Keith wasn’t known for being tactful, or diplomatic. 

“Yeah, last night he came to my place--”

“Oh God.”

“At around midnight.”

“What? He broke curfew?” Shiro groaned. “How did he even get out of the Garrison?”

“He’s crafty, I guess. Anyways,” At this, Adam started laughing. It was clear he was trying to hold it back but was failing miserably. He took a few deep breaths and continued on. “Anyways, he came to my door and said he needed to talk with me. I let him in, and he came right in.” He paused and took another deep breath. “He came in carrying a shovel.”

“Oh Go--wait, what?” 

Adam nodded. “Yup, not one of those little plastic beach shovels either. The thing was as tall as he was. He had to drag it into the room.”

“Where did he get the shovel from? He doesn’t own a shovel!” 

“I figured I’d let you have that conversation with him,” he said. 

“Why would he need to bring a shovel to a shovel talk? It’s not literal!” He couldn’t believe he was even having this conversation. He knew that Keith didn’t have the best social skills and often didn’t understand some of the nuances, but this was a little much, even for him. 

“Yeah, it actually took me about twenty minutes to figure out what he was even doing at my place. He just went on and on about the shovel,” Adam said. “I eventually figured it out when he started talking about how quickly the shovel could dig a six-foot hole.”

“Seriously?” Shiro let his head flop back on the couch. He and Keith were definitely going to have words after this (and Shiro was going to figure out where in the hell he got the shovel from).

“It was kind of cute, if not a little strange.” Well that just described Keith perfectly. 

“I’ll have a talk with him.” Shiro sighed. “How did he even come to the conclusion that a shovel talk involved an actual shovel?”

Adam shrugged and cuddled back into Shiro’s side. “Like I said, cute but strange.”

oOoOoOo

As it turns out, Keith had overheard some of his classmates talking about the shovel talk and decided, as a way to repay Shiro for his kindness and worried that he didn’t have another family member to perform the ‘ritual’ (his words, not Shiro’s), he was going to be the one to make sure Adam knew what was going to happen if he messed with Shiro. As for the shovel...he never did say where he got it from and no amount of prying or bribing would get him to confess. 

When Keith realized his mistake years later, he was mortified and spent almost an hour yelling at Shiro. 

“Why didn’t you tell me that the shovel talk didn’t involve any actual shovels!” He screeched. Lance, it turns out, was the one to break the news to Keith after relaying the first shovel talk he ever participated in on behalf of his older sister. 

“Adam thought it was cute.” Shiro shrugged, trying not to laugh. 

“I hate you.” Keith growled. 

Shiro just patted him on the head. “Don’t worry lil’ bro, I found a shovel so tonight, at midnight, I’m going to have a chat with Lance.”

Keith turned bright red and Shiro took that as his cue to sprint off down the halls. 

“Don’t you dare, Shiro!” 

Who knows, maybe this would become a tradition.


End file.
